Rob Lowman

Staff Writer

Recent articles

Entertainment

For “La La Land” director Damien Chazelle, the musical film — shot in Cinemascope and Technicolor — needed to find the right balance between the imaginary Los Angeles and the real city.“The city needed to be a bit of a dreamscape, but we shot nearly everything on location and wanted to embrace that fact,” Chazelle says.He points to the opening song-and-dance sequence in which Emma Stone’s Mia, a small-town girl with hopes of...

Entertainment

Someone was really laying on a car horn.“That’s L.A. in a nutshell,” Emma Stone says with a knowing smile. “They are definitely gonna move if you do that.”Coincidentally, the actress had just begun to talk about her role in “La La Land,” Damien Chazelle’s magical new musical set in the City of Angels, when the blaring car horn interrupted her. (That’s what happens in a place where you can keep your windows open in...

Entertainment

It’s hard not to enjoy the kinetic energy of Paul Greengrass’ “Bourne” films. Doug Liman did the first film about the memory-challenged spy starring Matt Damon, but Greengrass took up the mantle with verve in “The Bourne Ultimatum” (2007) and “The Bourne Supremacy” (2007).After nearly a decade-long absence, Damon and Greengrass returned last summer with “Jason Bourne.” The film thankfully has all the pizzazz...

Entertainment

Jeffrey Donovan looked a bit weary when we talked last summer. It was morning, and the actor had just flown in to Los Angeles the night before from Vancouver where he was shooting his new noir series “Shut Eye,” which debuts Wednesday on Hulu.When I told him I had seen the first episode, he looked surprised. “I’ve been in the middle of it, so I’m just catching up to you,” he says, and immediately wants to know what I think.There are a...

Entertainment

There has always been something subversive about “Hairspray.” After all, the original 1988 film came from the transgressive mind of John Waters, the filmmaker who has been called the “Baron of Bad Taste,” among other things.While “Hairspray” is the tamest of Water’s films, it even had a PG rating, it still pushed boundaries. A seemingly light retro comedy set in 1962 Baltimore, the story revolves around a “pleasantly...

Movies & TV

The first time you see Lucas Hedges’ character Patrick in Kenneth Lonergan’s “Manchester by the Sea,” he’s starting a fight.“I’m not someone who wants to get into physical altercations,” the 19-year-old actor says about himself. “That’s quite the opposite for Patrick.”In the film, which goes into wider release this month and is an almost certain lock for an Oscar best-picture nomination, Hedges plays a...

Entertainment

Amid the clatter of noisy children’s films, Disney released two rather sweet movies last summer, old-fashioned only in that they allow kids to be immersed in magical worlds with a range of emotions rather than distract them with gross-out jokes.“The BFG,” which means “big friendly giant,” is based on a Roald Dahl book, which is a bit more whimsical than Dahl’s darker “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” It’s directed by...

Entertainment

It’s 2074 and the head of a biotech firm named Elizabeth Kraus (Julia Ormond) shakes her head after being pressed by a politician. “Doesn’t he know how many people voted in the last election?” she says to her aide. “Twenty-two percent.”After dropping to 57 percent in this year’s presidential race, we know where the new Syfy series “Incorporated” — executive produced by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon — is...

Entertainment

“Search Party,” which begins Monday on TBS, allows you to binge-watch the first season by offering two each night during the week. It might be the best strategy for the slightly dark comedy. Waiting a week to see a second episode might only dissipate any interest you have. “Search Party” focuses on Dory (Alia Shawkat of “Arrested Development”), who floats aimlessly among a group of self-possessed millennials. Dory is insecure. While her...

Entertainment

The stop-motion animated movie “Kubo and the Two Strings” is likely to be an Oscar contender. Made by Laika Films, the outfit behind “Coraline” (2009), the new film has a visual quirkiness that is eye-catching. The two strings are from a shamisen (a Japanese lute) that has magical powers. Kubo is a small boy traveling with his mother in a small boat over dangerous open seas. Essentially, the animated film becomes a visually interesting family friendly adventure,...